Spring Peeps® show

 For those of us residing in the northern hemisphere, the vernal equinox occurred on March 20, 2008, marking the start of spring.  Another sure sign of good things to come is the annual migration of marshmallow PEEPS® to stores, just in time for Easter.

Peeps by the numbers:

–The amount of Peeps chicks and bunnies eaten at Easter could more than circle the Earth’s circumference.
–There are over 200 unofficial Peeps websites.
–It takes 70 million Peeps chicks lined up beak-to-tail to span the distance from New York City to Los Angeles.
–The average American consumes 2.3 Peeps every spring.
–Americans spend over $80 million on 1.2 billion Peeps per year.   
–A third of all Peeps are bought not for eating but for use in:  science experiments, arts & crafts, dioramas, and rituals (don’t ask).

 

What can explain Americans’ fascination with these sugary treats?  Here are some possible explanations:

–Americans love to anthropomorphize their pets and food.  Who can resist those cute marshmallow chicks?
–Peeps help release pent-up aggression.  Peeps have been frozen, burned, microwaved, and crushed.  And who doesn’t relish biting the head off a marshmallow chickie?
–Peep-o-holics crave love and sex.  Sugary Peeps can feed the hungry heart.
–Peeps imitate life and art.  Unlike hard rock candy, Peeps are made of a living material that changes over time.  Some artists call Peeps their muse.

Artist David Ottogallli turns Peeps into pop art: 

Related Peeps links:

Marshmallow Peeps: Those Resilient Little Birds   
Humorous “educational tour” that characterizes Marshmallow Peeps by investigating their reactions to cold, heat, solubility testing, and low-pressure environments. Also analyzes the risk of “the effects of smoking and alcohol on Peep health,” explains the daring surgery to separate conjoined Peep quintuplets, and investigates Peeps’ fear response.

Peep Research: A Study of Small Fluffy Creatures and Library Usage   
This humorous site pretends to evaluate “the ability of Peeps themselves to actually do research.” Peeps are observed photocopying, consulting with reference librarians, using microfilm, and working on group projects. “Created for an exhibit in the ‘Faculty Peep Show’ on display at … Millikin University [Illinois] … [to] commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of marshmallow peeps.”

PEEPS®: Everyone’s favorite holiday treat
Whether you like them fresh or stale - people are passionate about their Marshmallow Peeps. Look for them around all your favorite holidays.

Just Born, Inc., maker of Peeps has announced a new shape to celebrate spring 2008.  The fluffy marshmallow treats will now be available in yellow tulips, in addition to the popular chick, bunny and egg shapes.  This is the first time since the 1950’s that a new shape has been introduced.  Americans eat more than 800 million PEEPS each Easter holiday.

Finally, take the What Easter Candy Are You? quiz.

~TAB

PS.  Happy Easter!